Generative AI (GenAI), sustainability, digital marketplaces, and industry cloud platforms are among the top 10 technology trends to watch in 2024, according to research firm Gartner.
The details are Top Technology Provider Trends in 2024 The research firm said in its report that 2024 will be the first full year of easing of pandemic-related restrictions, adding: “It will present challenges and opportunities that are familiar in some ways, but new in others. They appear one after another.''
GenAI was also one of the influences on the list, resulting in vertical GenAI models and AI safety becoming key trends.
Regarding the former, Gartner says that while generic models perform well in a wide range of GenAI applications, they may not be practical for enterprise use cases that require domain-specific data.
“Technology providers need to explore industry-focused models that can more efficiently use available resources and adapt to specific user requirements. and will face increased costs and complexity in their use and utilization,” the company said.
The use of GenAI also comes with risks, and technology providers should definitely keep this in mind, especially given its rapid adoption rate and subsequent issues such as content provenance and hallucinations.
“Product leaders must focus on the transparency, traceability, interpretability, and explainability aspects of models and build solutions that incorporate safety principles. Stay ahead of regulatory and compliance issues and build trust. is critical to building upon and remaining competitive in this vibrant GenAI market,” Gartner said.
Eric Hunter, managing vice president at Gartner, said GenAI has impacted every industry as well as the future outlook in recent years, but it is not the only factor to consider in 2024.
“GenAI dominates the technical and product challenges of nearly every technology provider,” he said.
“This technology will reshape technology providers, from growth and product strategy to the everyday tools used by employees. Even as GenAI has the potential to reshape providers, technology leaders face That's not the only impact. There are new friction points for growth,” new convergence points in planning, marketing and sales, and new relationships opening up for technology and service providers (TSPs). ”
The company's first non-AI trend is the expected efficient growth of high-tech concepts.
“The significant increase in IT spending over the past decade has benefited high-tech companies,” Gartner said. “Capturing that growth has led tech companies to pursue growth without fully measuring costs. This is a 'growth at all costs' strategy. We built our product, organizational, and hiring plans based on a growth hypothesis.''
“As macroeconomic conditions create uncertainty for buyers and increased capital transfer costs drive investors to focus on margin expansion, Gartner analysts believe technology providers will be more likely to focus on efficient growth. We see an efficient growth strategy that recognizes the value in growing in a way that enhances current margins and future revenue opportunities. ”
As business and technology demands generally increase, enterprise IT is required to cover larger areas at a faster pace, eroding enterprise IT capabilities and capabilities in the process.
“This will enable technology provider product leaders to create new relationships and revenue opportunities across the enterprise, including expanding the provider's role within enterprise IT and the business, outcomes-centric provider-to-enterprise relationships, and enterprise-wide Tier 1 relationships. “There is an emerging trend toward creating new products,” Gartner said.
2024 is also predicted to see an increased focus on sustainability and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). The research firm said that to achieve sustainability goals, product leaders need to evolve by addressing dual emphasis and holistic use of emerging technologies.
In recent years, all businesses around the world are facing economic difficulties, which has led to increased pessimism among buyers. This means that old trading methods may no longer work.
“Over the past three years, technology providers have increasingly observed a negative impact on sales pipelines due to new buyer behaviors that collide with outdated go-to-market (GTM) models and sales and marketing approaches. Without adapting to detect and respond to buyer pessimism, technology providers will see their GTM operations decline from both an internal and external perspective. Deaf,” Gartner said.
One such way to adapt to new economic norms is through personalized marketplace experiences, which the research firm warns could lead to a decline in business if not taken into consideration.
“Product leaders who do not deliver their services through personalized digital marketplaces are limited in their ability to find their target customers. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will be digital. channel,” the company claims.
Another approach is product-led growth. It focuses on demonstrating value to product users and creates intent signals that the GTM team can use to future buyers. However, Gartner said that users using PLG GTM recognize that in most cases, a completely self-service GTM approach is not acceptable.
“Buyers' need for business value and outcome legitimacy in new or expanded businesses will result in the fusion of PLG strategies with value management and realization initiatives in hybrid GTM strategies,” the company added.
Additionally, according to Gartner, rapid technological advances like those seen in GenAI, digital purchasing, and the metaverse are changing the way technology providers market and sell their technology. Companies that ignore new sales methods may experience lower quality and relevance of deals.
Gartner says service providers, hyperscalers, independent software vendors (ISVs) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers are all looking to vertical solutions to drive growth. , industry cloud is also expected to grow tenfold.
Gartner predicts that “more than 50% of technology providers will be using industry cloud platforms to deliver business outcomes by 2027, up from less than 5% in 2023,” the company claims. I am.
Gartner said earlier this month that with the rise of GenAI images, more companies are moving away from identity verification and authentication solutions, deciding that they can no longer be trusted on their own.
